Meet Kwad: A Rescue Story

Kwad's father was a drug addict and his mom was indentured to a wealthy drug baron. She spent her days tapping rubber trees with her sharp knife and collecting sap in heavy buckets.

On the good days, his father sat around in a stupor. Those were the days when they had a no money for drugs. On the bad days, he would go crazy, beating and threatening the family. Almost all of the family's money went towards drugs, leaving Kwad with the gnawing, empty pain of a belly that seemed to press against his backbone.

Kwad came to us as a very quiet child. From day one, he kept himself and his space neat and tidy. He was shy and never showed interest in others unless it was necessary. Much of this reflected the difficulties he went through during his early childhood.

It’s been a journey for Kwad learning to engage with others. Although he prefers to be on his own, we’ve made steady progress in getting him to engage with the community and build friendships. Kwad enjoys things like books and music but still isn’t vocal about much. He’s learned to ask questions of the teacher when he gets stuck and we’ve seen his confidence level grow.

Kwad is now 13 and one of the many children you are helping us keep safe. We want to do everything we can to provide a safe way for him to move into life without becoming a frontline soldier - an inevitable reality for most children from his circumstances.